Improvement in compensating railway-joints



F. OAKLEY.

Improvement in Compensating Railway-Joints.

N0. 131,554 Patened Sep.24,1872.

SIDE ELEVATION 'END VIEW SECTIONAL PLAN ON L|NE.'.A.B.

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, FREDERICK OAKLEY, OF TORONTO, CANADA.

IMPROVEMENT IN COMPEN SATING RAILWAY-JOINTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 131,554., datedSeptember 24, 1872; antedated September To all whom it mcy concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK OAKLEY,

of the city of Toronto, in the county of York,

' the middle of the fish-plate toward either end thereof, which, used inconnection with two or more v-;" es, afford more room for the fishboltsto contract in extremely cold weather,

and in very warm weather increase the thickness of iron between the headof the bolt and its nut, so that the bolt will always be screwed tight.

Figure 1 is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is an end view, showing theimproved fish-plate on one side with wedge attached. Fig. 3 is asectional plan on line A B, showing the ordinary fish-plate E E, withslotted holes F F F, on one side of rail and the improved fish-plate bon the other, with one long wedge or inclined plane, 0, at one end offish-plate and two short wedges or inclined planes, 1) D, at the otherend, with the corresponding recessed inclined planes on the fish-plateitself. This figure shows the methods I adopt to get over thedifficulties arising from contraction and expansion of the rails.

A shows the rail between the flan ges, whereon the fish-plates E b arebolted, F F F being the slotted holes in the fish-plates to allow of thebolts moving through the fish-plates in order to alter .the relativepositions of the inclined plane and wedge. The wedges O and D are madewith round holes to correspond with the bolt-holes in the rails,.whichare to be made round so as to move the wedges. That portion of thefish-plate which istapered is not tapered on the whole width of itsface,

but only to the required width of the wedge, the remainder of that partof the fish-plate forming a rib at either edge for strength. The wedgesbeing placed so that the thinner part of the wedges may be in contactwith the thicker part of the fish-plate, an improved fish-plate beingused on one or both sides of the rail, as may be desired and mostsuitable, the whole is to be bolted together as usual. When the railscontract by the action of the cold the bolts will be drawn with the railapart from the point of the junction of the rails, the

slotted holes in the fish-plate allowing the mo tion of the boltswithout any displacement of the fish-plates, but the wedges will bemoved by the bolts so that the pointed ends of the wedges will bebrought nearer to the tapered ends of the fish-plates, and thus the morethe rails contract the thinner the body of iron between the heads of thebolts and the nuts. becomes, whereby the bolts are ofl'ered space tocontract. In case of expansion of the rails the action is of coursereversed, and the entire space between the heads of the bolts and thenuts is filled and the whole kept tight. The nuts can be kept fromshaking off by a thin band of iron, with a hole to correspond to thesize of the bolt, being placed on the bolt before the nut-is put on,andone end turned down on the raised side of its wedge, the other beingturned square to one side of the nut when screwed to its place.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

The fish-plate, tapered at bothjends, with the slotted holes and theribbed edges, in combination with the wedges, fastened together asdescribed, and operated in the manner and for the purpose abovementioned, and substantially as described.

. FREDERICK OAKLEY.

Witnesses:

TCKE'ARTON MORGAN, ALFRED Eneson.

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